Immortal Secrets
by SlytherinHippie
Summary: Vera is a normal student at Dartmouth but when the Cullens start to attend, life changes. While befriending Jacob Black and leading an unlikely relationship with Jasper, she finds that some things in the world should stay secret.
1. The Cullens come to Dartmouth

**Author's Note: **

**Hello all readers! This is a story about a college student who falls hopelessly in love with a vampire and befriends a werewolf! All beginnings are humble so please stick with the story even if you don't find it worthy of reading. There are a ton of Twilight fanfictions out there but I'm trying to make this one very emotional and deep, like the real thing itself. Soon you will know Vera better than your own best friends. I'll try to make the relationships in this book 3 dimensional, filled with real emotions and feelings. Any ideas on the story and what you think should happen is welcome in reviews! **

**Happy Reading!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's character.**

Chapter 1

The Cullens come to Dartmouth

Vera Williams walked slowly down the hall, glancing at the architecture of the old hall overlooking the vast courtyard.

That was her of course, the intellect. She never was like the other students at Dartmouth college, who flirted and socialized. She was not an outcast either but simply…a hardworking student.

Vera had been born and raised in Miami, Florida. Most students would have thought she would be like the other barhopping residents in Miami, party capital of the world but like always, they would find out they were wrong.

Vera was the complete opposite as one could tell. She planned to be a chemist and attend the best college in the world. Senior year, she had won a scholarship to Dartmouth and was now starting her 2nd semester there.

Now she was taking a walk from Bio class, getting fresh air and relieving her headache in the open air hall. She let the wind pull her hair back and she gazed out onto the fields of green courtyard, with students eagerly talking to their friends at tables and benches.

Her Iphone vibrated in her pocket interrupting her sleepy thoughts. She stopped in the hall and pulled out the cell phone, ignoring the students brushing past her. The text message was from her girlfriend, Giavanna. It read on the screen read:

Hey Vera! Did you see them?!? OMG the whole school is going crazy about it!!! Text back ASAP!!!

How could she forget? The Cullens of course. They were the new students at Dartmouth. They had arrived just today, too. Vera couldn't think when she saw them, she just stared, blending into the crowd gaping at them.

There were 6 of them, all gracefully moving and talking in little peals of bells. They were incredibly white and no part of their skin was at all ugly. They were the strangest humans ever, she had never seen people like this before.

She had been walking from her dorm to World Economics class in the Western building when she had first seen them in the courtyard. The whole school practically did. The thing was the group didn't seem to find the admirers annoying. Even though students were gazing in an admiring way, none of them approached the Cullens. Vera had to pull herself away from them to go to her World Economics class. She was late but she saw that nobody was there, they probably gossiping to their friends in the courtyard. The teacher was gazing out the window at the Cullens, not noticing the late arrival at all. Once everyone had arrived at World Economics and were seated in the stands, all they talked about were the Cullens. She and Riley had talked over the whole Cullen matter before Vera's Biology class, about their thoughts on the Cullens and what their first reaction was to them. Vera swore if she didn't now better, she would have thought they were not humans at all.

Throughout the day she sickened herself by listening to the same conversation lead by the students over and over again about where they thought the Cullens came from and who they were. She had the Cullens' names written in the back of her mind thanks to the pestering students already obsessed with them; Alice, Jasper, Emmet, Bella, Edward Renesmee and Rosalie. At the end of lunch she had formed opinions about them after she saw them for the 2nd time that day in the lounge. First of all, they were all very beautiful. Second, she didn't understand why they were so perfect and inhuman. And why they came in a pack. She started with Alice; she liked her for some reason, maybe for being flamboyant and stylish. She found Emmet the least attractive man in the group. Edward was… gorgeous, his air blown air sticking in all directions. Renesmee had wonderful curly hair and was very cute in the face. Bella looked stunning in her long dark hair and model-like expression. Rosalie reminded her greatly of her sister Kerry, striking with cheerleader hair but her despicable expression on her face also reminded Vera of her sister. As for Jasper, his intense expression and mane of blonde hair… Vera blushed.

Vera pondered in the hall over the whole Cullen matter while texting back a message to Giavanna:

Are you kidding me?!? The whole school saw them!!! Who didn't?

She sent the message and continued her walk down the hall. She turned the corner and ran into her friend and roommate Riley Robertson.

" Hey Riley!" Vera exclaimed, smiling. They extended their arms and gave each other a quick little hug.

" You hear about the Cullens?" asked Riley, grinning a little, walking with Vera to the courtyard.

" Heck yeah!"

" Just to let you know I think Edward is totally hot." Riley gave a sly smile to Vera.

That was Riley all right. She wasn't like a wannabe or anything but she had a confident personality and was very well liked at Dartmouth. She had gotten in school because of her Volleyball scholarship so she wasn't like a total nerd or anything. She adored guys and was always very entertaining.

Riley flipped her dirty blonde hair in a flamboyant kind of way. " You know he'll fall for me."

" Oh please, Riley, be realistic. This guy is probably not even human," Vera joked, nodding thanks to the man who had held the door open for her to the courtyard. She and Riley padded across the grass, toward the other students taking breaks and socializing.

" You're right! He's a god!!!" crowed Riley, jumping playfully onto someone's back. The person turned around and fake-slapped Riley on the cheek. Riley and her friend laughed at each other and both of them joined a large circle of students who were talking madly about something, meanwhile Vera stood her distance.

Riley turned around. " Vera! Come on!" She motioned with her hand for Vera to join the circle of buddies.

" No thanks! I have to go do Biology homework!" She had decided that she would feel awkward with all of Riley's friends, more like out of place.

Vera then trudged into bushes to get to her dorm, taking the shortcut instead of walking on the sidewalk. She was almost to the red brick building crossing the grass when she saw a man. He was large and very muscled, wearing a ragged tee-shirt and some worn out jeans. His short spiky black hair pointed in all directions. Apart from his largeness, Vera might herself thought he was attractive.

Thinking he needed help looking for something, she walked to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around a little too quickly, fear in his eyes. But when he saw her, the gleam disappeared and he offered a questioning look. " Yeah?"

Vera swallowed loudly. " Um..you need help? Like with anything?"

He smiled, his black eyes laughing. " Oh no! I don't go to Dartmouth. I'm not a genius. I don't even live here."

He took in her confused look and replied quickly, " I'm not like just hanging out for no apparent reason if that's what you're asking. I'm looking for a friend. And by the way, I'm Jacob Black."

" I'm Valerie Williams, call me Vera. I know a-lot of people here so you can just tell me the name and I'll find them."

He scratched his head, shifting his hair in different directions. " It's a surprise. I don't want them to know I'm here yet."

" Oh." For a second they stood there in silence, nothing to say. Vera broke the silence. " You want to go get a coffee at the student bar?"

" Yeah."

Together they walked to the glass building off in the distance.


	2. Jacob

Chapter 2

Jacob

" So Jacob, which college do you go to?" Vera took a sip from her lemon water. Jacob was sitting across from her in a red leather booth in the crowded student bar, an unopened root beer in hand.

He replied sheepishly, " I go to high school."

Vera gazed at him wide eye, knocking her glass over. She unconsciously wipe the puddle with a crisp napkin. " High school?! You look…older."

" More adult-like I know. I'm a senior though."

"Wait. How old are you?"

" 21 years old."

Vera started chuckling brushing her mousy brown hair from her eyes. " I thought you were like 16 or something. So did you fail a-lot or what?"

" No. I skipped school for a few years to…take care of someone. When they were…ok and could take care of themselves, I went back to finish high school."

" Why were you taking care of someone?"

Jacob was now uneasy. He hadn't told this girl exactly who – or what he was, but he was sure telling her a-lot of very general information. He ran his hand through his dark hair nervously.

He had ran from Forks, Washington to Hanover, New Hampshire in his wolf form just to spy on his girlfriend Renesmee Cullen. She was 17 years old and able to take care of herself but he couldn't help it. He couldn't see her for 1 whole year and he had a limited way of knowing if she was safe or not. He just had to make sure she was okay and then…what? Go back to Forks and continue living without her?

" Jacob?"

Jacob shifted back to reality. " I'm sorry. Oh for the question…um…"

Vera saw how he went back in the zone obviously thinking about something. She changed the subject abruptly. " So what do you think of Dartmouth?"

Jacob was happy for the subject turn. He had just arrived yesterday but he had thought much of the place. It was impressive, a maze of ancient buildings and geniuses. But he felt even more for the place, noting how friendly the first person he bumped into was like. She was friendly and had gone to help him.

" Great!" he answered, flashing his white teeth.

A auburn 20 year old swished suddenly to the side of the table. Vera almost knocked over her glass again. Jacob watched as she said, " Hey Barn!" She wrinkled her nose a little at the sweaty wrestling uniform he had forgotten to take off.

Barn was quite muscular and handsome with shaggy auburn hair and dashing gray eyes. He was obviously wrestler material.

Barn grinned at Vera, ignoring Jacob. " So Vallie, you say everyone's heard about the Cullens?"

Jacob froze. So the Cullens were maybe the center of attention in Dartmouth. He still hadn't seen them yet but he was 100 percent sure they definitely were. Jacob watched Vera and Barn talking. Barn had that googly eye look to him as he stared at Vera in a …lovingly manner. Jacob snickered under his breath. It was obvious he like Vera. How his hand lay on top of hers. Couldn't he be more obvious?

Jacob was contemplating this when Vera brought him out of these thoughts, introducing Jacob to Barn. He looked at Barn and immediately looked away. Barn had just now noticed Jacob was there.

Barn growled softly, " Who is…this?" His jealous eyes raked Jacob.

" If you would just let me finish Barn, this is Jacob Black. He's here to see someone."

Barn said smartly, " You know strangers aren't just allowed to come onto the campus any time they please. They could kick you out." Barn enjoyed the anxious look on Jacob's face. Vera meanwhile stood up, bringing her purse to her shoulder. " I should go. I have way too much work to do. Why don't you hang with Barn? He can introduce you to some people."

Jacob stood up fast, almost breaking the table with his leg. He'd better be careful, his wolf powers of strength were still there in human form.

" It's ok. I better go find my person."

Barn grunted a bye to Vera and joined the other jocks by the TV. Jacob ran outside. Well that was nice of Vera but he really needed to find Nessie. He couldn't go on much longer without her.


	3. Out of Place

Chapter 3

Out of Place

Vera was studying in her dorm the following night. She lay on her messy bed and hugged her stuffed frog to her chest. Lucky frog, she thought bitterly. At least it didn't have to do 3 hours of AP Bio homework.

She jolted on her spot when Riley came crashing in through the door with a beer in hand, blond hair tangled in a mess. She yelled something at her friends who were obviously giggling at her outside the door. " I'll dance the night away, you'll see!"

Riley was obviously talking about the big dorm party in the men's dorm. Vera sighed just as Riley slammed the door.

Riley immediately stumbled to her closet and pulled out a black skirt and a glittery sequin top, in a hurry. She posed behind it and asked without looking at Vera,

" What do you think?"

Vera gazed up for 1 second and back to her homework. " It's good."

Riley frowned. " Is that all you can say, girl? Come on, take a break from that Biology homework. Now, do you think the skirt is too short?"

" It's fine, Riley."

" Okay, okay.. hey, what are you going to wear? Definitely not those pajamas." Riley sent a disapproving look in Vera direction. Vera glanced defensively at her oversized tee-shirt and baggy sweat pants, fluffy frog slippers covering her small feet.

Vera took in a deep breath. " I'm not wearing this. I'm not going."

Riley stopped spraying Lacoste perfume on her golden head and turned to Vera, astonishment leaking on her face. " What do you mean you're no going, girlfriend?"

Vera said in a tight whisper, " I have to study, you know. For Biology. I want to get good grades…and stuff."

Riley was always full of excitement but now disappointment leaked out as she asked heatedly, " Will you stop worrying about homework? Gosh Vera, I swear you take school a little too seriously. You never have fun."

Vera's heart ached.

Riley got dressed in silence and finished applying makeup. " Bye," she called out as she slammed the door shut, no emotion in her voice.

Vera and Riley usually never got in fights but when they did, it was always about how Vera never had fun. Well Vera couldn't help it. She couldn't dance, never could throw a baseball, never could be popular. She was average and academics were the only thing she had in this world.

She listened to the piano from the Music room downstairs and finished up her homework and reading. When she had thrown her book on the ground, she heaved a sigh and lay facedown on her pillow. Sometimes she felt out of place.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jacob trembled violently. He was on the football field, the stadium lights were off, enclosing him in a shadowy darkness. He ran and exploded, turning into the inner russet wolf. His paws pounded on the ground, bringing him towards the end of the field. He heard voices in his head, Seth and Leah of course. They had been nagging him to come back to Forks all along his way to Hanover.

Leah thought, _Jacob! _He felt Leah reading his memory of where he was. _You're at Dartmouth?!? Come on Jacob, come back to Forks. Billy is going crazy._

Seth added miserably, _Yeah Jacob, please._

Jacob growled back, _Tell Billy I'm fine. And Leah, take care of Seth._

_I'm not a baby!_ Seth grumbled.

_Shut up Seth! Jacob, remember your precautions. Be careful around the humans, _Leah warned.

Jacob searched through Leah's and Seth' thoughts, noting that they were in the La Push forest, circling around the perimeter.

Jacob ignored their further complaints and focused on Renesmee's smell. The strong smell of vampires was to the east. He bounded up the stadium, claws scratching the metal stairs. He jumped off the edge and in less than 10 seconds, he found the Cullens near the eastern building. They were huddled around a tree, almost invisible to the human eye but not to Jacob's. Their pale skin reflected off the moonlight as they talked in hushed whispers.

Jacob hid behind a large hedge and shifted back to his human form as quietly as a mouse. He peered around the corner of the hedge. Renesmee was there and he locked his gaze on her for a while. A feeling of relief washed over him. She was safe. His Nessie was safe.

He froze as a loud jingle of bells screamed at him, " _You stupid mutt!!!_" It was blondie, of course.

Jacob broke his gaze at Nessie's horrified face to Rosalie who was coming closer by the second. He came out of the bushes in defeat, though a smile played on his lips.

Rosalie marched coldly until she was a foot from him, wrinkling her nose. " What are you doing here Jacob?" she snarled, eyes glinting dangerously. But Jacob knew better than to get spooked by her.

" What's up blondie? Say, you've changed. Lemme guess…you got uglier?"

Rosalie seethed at him while the Cullens walked up to the unhappy couple. Rosalie shouted, her blond hair tossing as she jerked a finger at Jacob. " I knew it wasn't going to happen! You still had to see her didn't you?" It was amazing how, Jacob thought, blondie was still protective of Renesmee. She only dealt with him because it made her niece happy.

Emmet put a gentle hand on Rosalie's shoulder. " It's ok, Rose." They both walked back from Jacob to the back of the crowd.

Alice stayed in a dark corner, smiling at Jacob. " It's been way too long, dog." She danced to him and quickly hugged him, holding her nose.

Edward kept calm and forced the words through his mouth as Alice gracefully spun away. " Jacob. You promised you wouldn't barge into Renesmee's life. That you would leave her alone…for a while."

Jacob countered, " Nessie is my life. I can't…you don't understand…please. I have to see her. I can't be away from her."

Edward golden eyes glinted in annoyance. Bella meanwhile came to Jacob and laid a hand on his bare shoulder. " Jacob, Jacob. Why…."

Jacob grinned at her. " Come on Bells, you know what it feels like to be away from your loved one. You know it hurts."

Bella smiled, her old smile, her human smile, a smile behind all that beauty. " I understand Jacob."

Edward rolled his eyes. " I still don't understand why that that _dog_ always has to barge in and ruin everything."

Jacob chuckled quietly and said, " You'll get use to it my vampire-in-law."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Where was it? Vera searched through her Coach duffel bag frantically. Where was her World Economics textbook? She needed it now. Her grades were slipping in that class and she feared what 1 incomplete assignment could do to her.

A vision came to her. A vision where her textbook still lay in the stands, all by itself. She had left it.

Vera cursed to herself and , not bothering to change her pajamas, put on running shoes and disappeared out the dorm. All was quiet, everyone at that dorm party. She raced down the carpeted hallway passing the descending room numbers.

She bumped into one of the Dartmouth's most elite girls on campus, Petra Minners.

" Watch it!" Petra yelled, her girl buddies throwing annoyed glances in Vera's directions, whispering amongst themselves. Petra threw her hair over her shoulder and fixed her red stiletto heel, which now looked mangled thanks to Vera's running shoe.

" I'm so…sorry," Vera stammered.

Petra glared furiously at Vera. " What are you doing here anyway?" she spat.

" Studying?"

Petra's friends laughed heartlessly at this. One of them whispered " braniac" under their breath.

" Come one girls…let's not waste time with this…" Petra didn't finish her sentence but instead snickered a cold sound from her throat.

The girls went in Petra's dorm, probably to pick up some more alcohol for the party. Vera didn't stay to watch them. She had darted out onto the dewy grass, charging through the night towards the east building. Would the doors be unlocked? Vera crossed her fingers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Cullens were now talking the matter amongst themselves, debating whether Jacob would stay or go back to Forks.

Bella stared at her daughter and Jacob holing hands in the moonlight, talking quietly to themselves. She had only stared at them for a millisecond before focusing on the conversation. Edward had ruled that Jacob stay here….for the time being.

Bella flipped around in a blur and stared at the happy couple, eyes watering out of pure habit. She was happy for them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Vera had reached the gray, gothic building when she spotted a person standing off to the side. Jacob. What was he doing here in this time of night? Vera slowed down. She came closer to him, walking silently like a ghost. But Jacob had turned around as if she had screamed his name.

Vera stopped. Her heart thudded. She wished she had gone into the east building. A dread built in her heart. Jacob's eyes were a strange color and he stared at Vera in panic. Jacob groaned at his bad luck. How did the only human he really knew at Dartmouth have to run into him like this? Vera's eyes stayed on him. The they wandered off and she uttered a low gasp as she saw the Cullens standing off in the distance.

What were they doing here? The strange new people? With Jacob, the boy she didn't even, now that she thought about it, know at all? How weird was this? They all were a little too still. This frightened Vera some more. They were like statues. Living statues.

Vera might have shrugged this off but she saw the bronze curly haired, Renesmee, holding hands with Jacob. She wanted this to be a dream but it clearly wasn't. She couldn't handle it; from getting in a fight with her friend, to being teased, and now all _this._

Vera took off in the other direction and ran, never looking back.


	4. Meet Jasper

**Author's Note:**

**In this chapter, the story will start to really take off. I have a maze of crazy plots in my head so stay tuned! Please review! Any suggestions and what you think of the story is totally fine.**

Chapter 4

Meet Jasper

The Cullens and Jacob were gathered in Bella and Edward's clean, spotless dorm. They were talking about the whole ordeal last night.

" So what do you think?" Alice asked quietly from the corner, fiddling with her platform shoes.

Jacob shrugged. " You kind of have to admit some stranger you just met, standing next to the school's biggest hits in the middle of the night is pretty strange."

Edward broke in, stopping his pacing. " But why did she run, why?"

Jacob sighed. " Look, humans aren't that strong. They actually get _scared_. Unlike you vamps, the dark creatures of the night."

" I still think we should tell Carlisle." Rosalie had that sour expression on her pale face.

Jacob grunted, " For the last time, blondie, she just got scared, no problemo. I'll go talk to her."

" No, no," Jasper cut in. He stared unnervingly at the surprised group of vampires. " I should talk to her. We have a class today together…it's," he thought for a long time, searching the contents of his mind, which only lasted half of a second. " Physics. Plus I can see what's she's feeling."

" Fine," Edward answered. " But if she shows up today at school."

" She might," Renesmee said. She had just entered the room. " She's bound to be. She just hasn't shown up for 3 days."

Edward growled, shooing Nessie away, " Nessie, I thought I told you to go away. This is our business."

" I'm not a child."

" Please."

Renesmee fluttered out the door, Jasper flinching from the painful emotions running about her.

The Cullens, without warning, all dispersed to their rooms. Jacob meanwhile went to find Nessie.

---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------

Vera Williams woke up with a start. She sat up, suddenly groggy.

Riley said cheerfully from the bathroom, " Hey sleepyhead! Are you going to school today?" Riley never held grudges, even after fights. She was her normal self when she came back from the dorm party, 3 nights ago, chattering about who had asked her to dance.

Vera sighed. " I have to. I can't pretend to be sick anymore."

" Vera, honey bear, what's wrong? I'm your friend, you can tell me." Even though Vera couldn't see Riley face, she could imagine the dissatisfaction plastered on it.

" I'm sorry Riley. It's complicated."

It was, all right. She had ran away even though nothing posed a threat to her. Why had she run away? Vera contemplated this. She had decided it was just a panic attack. She was stressed that night and she couldn't think when she saw the weird situation. She just ran when her body told her to, even if there was nothing terribly wrong with it.

Vera groaned. How was she going to face Jacob and the Cullens now?

--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

Jasper flitted to class, making sure no one was in his presence. He had just kissed Alice goodbye for the next couple of hours.

He smiled at the memory at Alice's joyful self. He loved Alice dearly, she was the best thing that ever happened to him ever since he met her at a diner all those years ago.

He stopped flitting when he smelled humans near by. He paced himself, slowing to human pace. He took in the strong emotions of the students in the halls, anger and love mixed in together.

In the nest hour, Jasper was sitting in the highest stand in Physics, away from everyone. He still hated the delicious smell of the humans, even after more than a century.

Class was going to start in the next 30 minutes. He sat there, bored, wishing he could see Alice, his love. He went on his cell phone and played a couple of games on the internet, beating the whole world with his high scores. But after he had finished playing cube field for the 5th time, he smelled another emotion come into the room. A distraught, confused emotion which made his heart ache.

Vera.

She was staring at him, eyes wide with fear. And boy, did she look worn out, the bags under her eyes unsuccessfully covered with tan foundation.

She automatically moved to the door, Jasper feeling fear prick at her.

" Vera!" he called in his most alluring voice. She stopped, stunned by the beautiful sound directed to her.

She walked slowly back, climbing the stairs of the stand and then stopping, looking up at Jasper. He heard her suck in a sharp breath, amazed at his beauty. Her eyes lingered on his face for seconds and then she looked away, embarrassed.

Jasper continued, " Vera…sit next to me."

The whole class, which had been socializing around the room, was quiet, eyes on Vera and Jasper. Jasper could feel their shocked emotions filtering through their skin.

Vera looked bewildered. She sat next to him, or more like fell and Jasper caught her, their faces inches from each other, staring at each other's faces. Something happened to Jasper at that second. Something started. A warm feeling entered his heart, a feeling he had not felt in more than 150 years. He ignored it but it was there. He didn't know what it was but he had to focus on Vera now.

She laughed, straightening herself up and sitting next to him, clumsily. " I'm so sorry. I'm really clumsy."

Her breathing shallowed as she took in his dazzling laugh. She continued, her voice rising a few octaves and breaking through the whole music chart, " I'm – I'm so…sorry…f—for that night." She stared down at her lap. What was Jasper going to say?

Jasper meanwhile, sent out a calming feeling and he heard her heartbeat immediately begin to slow in a rhythmic beat.

He said as simply as he could, " Relax Vera, I understand why you ran. You see Jacob wanted to see us but since he could have been caught without a student ID, he wanted to meet us at the side of the building. I'm sorry we scared you. We were just surprised to see you."

Vera felt guilty. She blurted out, " I'm so sorry for acting that way. I had a lot of…stuff happen to me that day and I just freaked. I shouldn't have. What's so wrong with students hanging out at the side of the building?" But she knew what was wrong. The scene to her was strange. Her mind kept telling her it was danger. Why?

Jasper put his hand on her, on her shoulder. She stiffened. He moved his hand away quickly.

For the next 2 hours in class, he took notes with Vera. But because of his vampire abilities, he multitasked and thought about a numerous amount of things. For instance what that warm feeling in his dead heart was. That strange feeling when he saw Vera up close. When he had took in her average face, laden with brilliant green eyes and soft mousy hair.

For the first time in his life, he felt confused. He had no idea what was to come, what sinister things were going to start all involving Vera.


	5. Inhuman

**Loyal Readers,**

**I would like to thank the people who have stayed with this story up to this chapter! Your patience will be rewarded with an amazing story!**

Chapter 5

Something Entirely Different

That afternoon, Vera ran into Jacob Black and Nessie Cullen in the green courtyard.

The first thing that blurted out of Vera's mouth was, " I'm sorry!"

Jacob's black eyes were now sympathetic. " Jasper told me all about your guy's little speech. And I'm sorry. I scared you in the first place."

" But I shouldn't have –," Vera said but Jacob interrupted, " Vera, no explanations. Okay?"

Nessie shifted beside him, her hand still on Jacob's shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes glimmered at Vera.

" So we cool?"

Vera smiled, hugging her books to herself. " Yeah, Jake."

Jacob wrapped his arm around Renesmee and asked Vera, " Do you want to hang out with us?"

Vera wasn't sure what _us_ meant but she followed anyways, relieved to have the matter over with and done.

She had to run to keep up with Jacob and his long gangly legs and Renesmee, who walked very fast for a person that short.

She found herself in a secluded spot, a table near an apple blossom tree. Seated at the table were the Cullens. They all stared at Vera in curiosity but they smiled too, probably to ease the tension from the 3 nights before. Vera saw Jasper standing next to the tree, watching her, and that weird feeling of ease spread through her again. She hardly knew Jasper, in fact she just had a brief conversation with him in Physics about her embarrassing run-away, but she somehow felt more accustomed to him. She looked at the other Cullens, almost losing her balance when she looked in Edward's model face and messy bronze colored hair.

Alice cried out a loud " hi!" and bounced, to Vera's amazement, in platform shoes and gave Vera a tight hug. Jealousy took over Vera as she saw the spiked black hair of Alice, wonderful and stylish. She heard Jasper chuckle at her.

Vera noted that Alice was extremely cold. And hard like stone. Vera glanced in space, taken aback at the strange qualities of Alice.

Vera didn't see from her human eyes the look the Cullens gave Alice.

When Vera had said a quiet hi back to Alice, she gazed at the other Cullens who were busy telling her their names.

The whole family was outlandish except for Jacob, who looked totally out of the norm of Cullens with his Indian features. The Cullens themselves were just like Jasper, perfect and graceful. She remembered the coldness she had felt when Jasper caught her. Were these traits a family kind of thing? And what kind of family was this?

Other than the eccentric things, Vera couldn't believe her luck. She was actually hanging with the most talked about people in school. And probably the most beautiful. She stood shell shocked.

--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

Two days later, Jasper was walking to Physics. He was looking forward to it very much, though he didn't know why. Vera now sat next to him everyday. Maybe that was it. But they rarely talked and when they did, it was about how to do a problem.

He remembered back to when Vera had come to reconcile with the Cullens in the courtyard 2 days ago. She looked dazed as she took in the whole situation, staring at the Cullens like they were gods. Later that night, the Bella had scolded Jacob to not have people be with their coven in any way. She had complained it was too dangerous, that they should never involve humans.

The strange feeling in Jasper's heart was beginning to take some shape. It grew stronger and stronger every time he saw Vera in Physics.

Class started and Vera took her usual spot next to him, though she kept her distance. Vera herself was thinking things that ordinary people didn't think in a day-to-day basis. The supernatural. First of all, she refused to believe the beauty and perfectness was just pure luck. There was something behind all this. The calming feeling she got every time she was near Jasper was one thing she had pondered about. She was hypothesizing they were aliens from another planet or people who practiced witchcraft. Either way, she wanted to find out. All she could think about were in Cullens. She only saw them a few times a day but when she did, they walked past her as if they didn't know her.

When class was over, Jasper immediately rose from his seat and bolted out the door. Vera decided to follow him.

She had to practically run to keep a 100 feet radius around him. Jasper walked across the courtyard to the Cullens at a picnic table isolated from the student body. Jacob was nowhere to be seen. Vera stopped running and hid behind a column in front of the Law school. She peered out and began her little investigation.

After half an hour, she saw nothing. By nothing she meant the whole clan was sitting motionless, not moving at all. She watched for any movement. Nothing for minutes straight. She added that to her list of abnormalities. Then Alice sprang up from the table, Vera watching wide-eyed at her. She put her head in her hands and twitched violently. The rest of the Cullens crowded around her, protectively, though they said nothing at all.

Jasper meanwhile was holding Alice, who was getting a vision, and saying so quickly his lips appeared not to even vibrate at all, " Alice! Alice! What is it?!"

Alice stayed that way, her head in hands, the Cullens around her, guarding her. Edwards hissed, " Alice! Please!"

She managed to seethe out, " Just a vision." Then she gave a loud gasp.

Vera was taking notes of this abnormality. This was definitely going on her list. She pondered if Alice needed help but decided to stay out of it.

Back at the scene, Alice was drawing a picture rapidly on a piece of notebook paper Nessie had given her. Her hand twitched with every stroke. She let out a moan of fear.

The Cullens waited patiently off to the side while she finished, standing up finally, clutching her head as if she had a headache.

Edward was the one to help her regain full balance. He noticed out of the corner of his eye as he pulled her up, that Jasper had rushed to look at the drawing instead of his beloved. Jasper's attitude had changed over the past days. He often was looking out in space. Edward had tried many times to pry in his mind but Jasper always sensed Edward's curious attitude and shut his mind against it.

Emmet stared at the drawing. Sketched on it was a rough drawing of a beautiful vampire with shiny black hair and spun like spirals down her waist. Her eyes were a crimson color and she had a mysterious smile on her face, like she just found out a big secret. " Who is it Alice?" he asked.

Alice recovered quickly and skipped over there. " In my mind she was coming through a mist. I don't know who she is – she never said who she was…I just know she was dangerous and she had something against us. I just knew – just knew that she after Vera. I don't know what for."

Everyone stared at each other in incredulity. Vera? Why Vera? Had they involved her too much in their world?

Rosalie said quietly, " I think we should alert Carlisle."

" No!" protested Bella, whisking the paper out of Emmet grasp. " We can survive this. I don't want to ruin his and Esme's vacation in Italy. I really don't. We had to convince him that we would be okay. How is he going to ever let us out on our own if we run into trouble our first week? "

Edward agreed solemnly. " Besides, that's just one vampire against all of us. Let's not forget the mutt."

" Dad!" whined Renesmee. " If Jake is going to become part of the family, then you should call him by his real name."

Edward grumbled under his breath.

Emmet continued, " If this vampire tries to fight us, then she's got nothing. As for Vera…"

Everyone thought in silence. Then Jasper piped up two seconds later, " I'll watch her!"

Alice gave Jasper a strange look. " Why?"

Jasper explained heartily, " I was in the military. I can take care of Vera. I'll keep an eye on her."

Emmet boomed, " Ok, Jazz you watch Vera. Though there's no need too. We'll sense this vamp's arrival from miles away. Like I was saying, we can totally fight her and defeat her easily."

The thing was this vampire wasn't going to fight them physically. But she was going to twist them in emotional ways they never thought possible for revenge.

--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

Vera now hurried to her dorm. She had seen Alice become well again and the Cullens talking solemnly in a circle. She sprang up from her hiding spot and ran when the Cullens look like they were about to leave. She had come to a conclusion based on her experiment but she didn't want to think about it or even believe it.

She entered her dorm, ignoring Riley who yelled a hello from the bathroom. She went straight to her Mac laptop and started typing on Word her list all the things that were odd with the Cullens and their actions. Their perfect ways. The coldness. And not to mention, Alice's little event this afternoon.

She typed 'conclusion' and spaced. She paused for the first time. She let out a little gasp as she took in the meaning of the conclusion she kept locked in her mind the whole day.

She was surer than ever that the Cullens, whoever they were, were not human, let alone alive.


	6. Follwing and then Dazzling Vera

**Author's Note:**

**Not too much happens in this chapter except for the fact that…well, find out for yourself. Again, thanks for the reviews. FYI, reviews motivate me to write even more. I would have quit a long time ago. And yes, Barn does drive a Ferrari California. Go look it up.**

Chapter 6

Following and then Dazzling Vera

Riley blow dried her hair, finishing off her mascara and then marched out of the bathroom in the tiny dorm.

She needed to finish to finish her Calculus homework before 8 o clock, when her volleyball game started. Usually she asked her braniac friend for help, who was here at Dartmouth for academics, Valerie Williams, but ever since Monday, Vera had been acting a little peculiar. She missed school for 3 days for instance. When Riley had asked her what was the problem, Vera always changed the subject or told her it wasn't important._ If you're cooping up in your dorm for 3 days straight and you're a total school person, then it must be pretty damn important, _Riley had thought smugly. She had pestered Vera about it over and over but Vera kept her mouth zipped with the same lame excuses.

Now Vera had skipped school for another day. But Vera had told her it was nothing at all. Just some Physics homework she didn't do and needed a day to finish. But Riley wasn't believing any of her lies. It was obvious Vera's problem was related to the problem she was being moody about the past week. Though she didn't sleep in bed the whole time just like during her 3 day "vacation", she stayed on her laptop for the whole day since yesterday afternoon, on the internet, claiming to be doing that blasted homework. Riley had snuck a brief glance at the laptop screen in the morning before Vera shoved her face in it. She had caught the word "inhuman." Riley didn't know what to make of it. She just tried to forget it or believe her friend had a crazy disorder.

Riley wasn't the only one who noticed Vera odd behavior. Some other students and friends of Vera's did but never really mentioned it. But everyone had seen her hanging out with the Cullens that one day. Riley had witnessed Vera standing bewildered to the ground, mouth open like she'd seen her favorite movie star. Riley didn't blame her. The school still hadn't approached the Cullens nor would they probably in their entire lifetime. There was also this rumor that Vera was sitting with Jasper Hale during Physics. Riley refused to believe this.

When Riley came out of the bathroom, she saw Vera huddled around the computer once again.

" Vera…how about you come to my game. It's us against Harvard. Pretty exciting stuff."

But Vera was gazing wide eyes at the screen, not taking her eyes off it.

She murmured, clicking, " Sorry Riley. Can't go. I'm almost finished."

And that was that. Riley felt the same anger in her heart the night Vera had said she needed to study Biology instead of going to the biggest party of the year.

Riley forced on a smile and said through her teeth, " Well I have to go talk to Haley. See you around. The game doesn't start for another few hours so if you get done…"

Riley abruptly stopped and sighed. There was no point.

She closed the door softly.

------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Vera walked to Physics. She pondered about her day off yesterday. She had taken the day off mostly because of the fact that she couldn't have focused on any of her subjects when she was nowhere near the answer to her big question . Not that she was now.

She had researched on her laptop the whole day and found nothing. Nada. The one theory she considered a bit on was that the Cullens practiced witchcraft. That explained a bunch but she still didn't feel satisfied. She knew deep down that that wasn't the answer to the whole Cullens-are-immortal? question. Most of the websites she visited were junk. She ran into adds a few thousand times. She only found just 3 semi-reliable sites to search for information on one in the world would ever want to know. And witchcraft was all she had for starters.

Vera had to figure this all out on her own. She had to go out there and find out the truth. But how?

------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------

Jasper, sitting next to Vera in Physics, took notes, while debating how he should keep an eye to Vera for the weeks to come.

He didn't know why he volunteered to keep an eye on Vera. She was nothing to him. But she still was something when he felt that warm feeling run up his heart, down his spine. He still hadn't figured what that was yet.

He debated about his plan, finally coming to the decision of becoming her friend. He shook his head briefly. Her friend?! No…where did that come from? He couldn't start her in hanging with vampires again…Jacob had already done enough. But what if their friendship was secret? What if he didn't tell his coven? Telling his coven would only get him to a "no." They would never allow him to get that close to Vera. But how else could he keep an eye on her? Jasper knew but somehow, he liked the whole hanging out with her idea better.

Before he knew it, class was over and Vera was walking down the stands, to her friend Giovanna Sculpture, an Italian girl with dark black hair.

He had to act quick.

Jasper followed the pair of talking girls silently outside in the courtyard and hung in the shadows, flitting without a soul noticing.

He saw a rather large wrestler, clad in his uniform, saunter his way to Vera. Jasper snickered as he saw the wrestler, Barn, try to put the moves on Vera. He totally didn't know how to do it. Jasper watched in amusement as Barn mentioned the Spring Prom and noted obviously that he didn't have a date.

"…yeah, all these girls asked me and I was like no to all of them. I really need a date though…" Barn said slowly, gazing intently into Vera's eyes. Vera though didn't seem to see what he was doing but Gio did, giggling as she winked at him.

Barn shifted on his foot suddenly and verbalized, " Vera, uh, just asking but would you –." Vera cut him off, glancing at her watch, " Oh! I have to go to the library, now! I'm so sorry Barn! Maybe we can meet up later sometime."

Barn went from being disappointed to then happy. " Yeah sometime, Vera. See you around."

The girls hurried to the library but Jasper still had time to watch jealously as Barn walked to the parking lot and drove his Ferrari California out of Dartmouth gates. Jasper pulled his stare away and followed the girls easily even though they were a long ways away.

Jasper came up behind them silently when they were in the open wall halls. He ignored the stares from the students as he passed them. He'd gotten use to that a 100 years ago.

He tapped Vera's shoulder impulsively, tired of watching her back for 5 minutes straight. Vera spun around, and stopped mid sentence. She stared at him, awestruck via Gio beside her.

She finally managed to bubble out, " Jasper! What are you doing here?" She gave him a surprised look.

Jasper said as if he were telling the truth, " Can we talk? It's important."

" Talk?"

" Yeah."

" Why?"

Gio gawked at him and he awkwardly said through his teeth. " Oh, just to get to know you."

The girls exchanged a look of incredulity.

Vera stuttered, " Oh, jeez, I don't know what to say."

" Say yes."

Vera glanced down at her book in hand. " But I have this really big test tomorrow and I would like to study so…"

Jasper needed to watch her. Or so that warm feeling told him, get to know her. He gave her his most dizzying, and most dazzling smile, which glinted off in rainbows in a thousand different spectrums. Vera held her breath. She let it out, returning to normal and murmuring, " Sure."

Gio meanwhile was astounded, noticing what she defiantly thought was flirting between Jasper and Vera. She covered her mouth in shock.

Vera said, dazed, " I'll see you around Gio."

Gio didn't say anything but processed the things that just happened through her mind.

Vera, next to Jasper Hale, walked with him back to the courtyard.


End file.
